{"product_id":"the-second-kind-of-impossible-the-extraordinary-quest-for-a-new-form-of-matter-9781476729930","title":"The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter","description":"\u003cb\u003e*Shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize*\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the most fascinating scientific detective stories of the last fifty years, an exciting quest for a new form of matter. \"A riveting tale of derring-do\" (\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e), this book reads like James Gleick's \u003ci\u003eChaos \u003c\/i\u003ecombined with an \u003ci\u003eIndiana Jones \u003c\/i\u003eadventure.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen leading Princeton physicist Paul Steinhardt began working in the 1980s, scientists thought they knew all the conceivable forms of matter. \u003ci\u003eThe Second Kind of Impossible\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of Steinhardt's thirty-five-year-long quest to challenge conventional wisdom. It begins with a curious geometric pattern that inspires two theoretical physicists to propose a radically new type of matter--one that raises the possibility of new materials with never before seen properties, but that violates laws set in stone for centuries. Steinhardt dubs this new form of matter \"quasicrystal.\" The rest of the scientific community calls it simply \u003ci\u003eimpossible\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Second Kind of Impossible \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures Steinhardt's scientific odyssey as it unfolds over decades, first to prove viability, and then to pursue his wildest conjecture--that nature made quasicrystals long before humans discovered them. Along the way, his team encounters clandestine collectors, corrupt scientists, secret diaries, international smugglers, and KGB agents. Their quest culminates in a daring expedition to a distant corner of the Earth, in pursuit of tiny fragments of a meteorite forged at the birth of the solar system. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSteinhardt's discoveries chart a new direction in science. They not only change our ideas about patterns and matter, but also reveal new truths about the processes that shaped our solar system. The underlying science is important, simple, and beautiful--and Steinhardt's firsthand account is \"packed with discovery, disappointment, exhilaration, and persistence...This book is a front-row seat to history as it is made\" (\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11201588\"\u003ePaul Steinhardt\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/07\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.40w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781476729930\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 147672993X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SCI\"\u003eScience\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SCI077000\"\u003ePhysics | Condensed Matter\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SCI\"\u003eScience\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SCI016000\"\u003ePhysics | Crystallography\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-BIO\"\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Autobiography\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-BIO015000\"\u003eScience \u0026amp; Technology\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43832806932619,"sku":"9781476729930","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5100\/7115\/files\/img_590732ca-4f17-4ceb-8528-dee8a77715f6.jpg?v=1755623388","url":"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/products\/the-second-kind-of-impossible-the-extraordinary-quest-for-a-new-form-of-matter-9781476729930","provider":"CA Corrections Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}